I like this title "Tamthusiastic" for Newbies and added this word in my signature - I think, it makes sense there

I know, there also are titles like "Tamificent" and "Tamabulous" - and I would like to know, if there is a list, what other titles are possible (if there are more)? Although I tried the search function I did not find anything.

The one, who made these titles is really creative and I am very curious.

Hmmmm I'm not going to go into detail the reasons for this suggestion, but I propose a "Guru" group be made, and those who really are knowledgeable and helpful be promoted into that group. Just because someone posts a lot does not make them a "Guru" :- "A guru (गुरु) is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher)"

*and breathe*

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” --Aristotle *

nivenj wrote:Hmmmm I'm not going to go into detail the reasons for this suggestion, but I propose a "Guru" group be made, and those who really are knowledgeable and helpful be promoted into that group. Just because someone posts a lot does not make them a "Guru" :- "A guru (गुरु) is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher)"

*and breathe*

Great idea

Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away

The problem is that it is not possible to make a separate usergroup that is not based on post count without it interfering with the Breeders / Admins / Moderators usergroups - currently each member has a default usergroup with the post count determining 'rank title'. Without default usergroups it would be very confusing to have so many different 'titles' and groups for each individual member. I definitely agree about what you are saying with regards to "Guru" status being reserved for those who are truly knowledgeable (rather than just those who post a lot) but it is difficult to make the distinction on a technical level. One would hope that those who post the most truly do know the most but that is certainly not always the case in reality.

The future lies before you, like a path of pure white snow...
Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

difficult but not impossible. I'm not absolutely up on phpBB3 as I am other forum software, but I'd be amazed if there wasn't a module that allowed you to assign a user defined field on the users profile either on terms of a text item or small graphic depicting Guru status that isn't linked to rank or interferes with default groups (admins, mods etc). You've given me a challenge now

We could then have rankings like, minor pup, pup, junior, yearling, graduate, post graduate (hmmm where have I seem these used)

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” --Aristotle *

True, but who would decide which members belong to which groups? Arguably, it could be seen as a kind of 'popularity contest' or that we are 'playing favorites' by assigning a subjective class system that isn't based solely on numbers (post count).

The future lies before you, like a path of pure white snow...
Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

The Admins had a discussion (in our private Admin & Mod section) to see which members would make the best / most suitable Moderators for the forum, which was based on activity, post count, helpfulness, attitude, etc.

I just think it would be too much work to do this for every single member of the forum (to figure out where they should be 'grouped' according to status). Also, some people who were active before are no longer active, etc.

The future lies before you, like a path of pure white snow...
Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

Nino wrote:maybe if there was a "was this post useful" button?
depending on how many useful posts the person had it would become a "guru" ?

Actually, that is possible and wouldn't be too hard to implement. I've seen it on other forums whereby particular posts can be 'liked' or 'found useful' and that goes towards a point system (we could also implement a 'dislike' system! haha)

Anyway, I will think about it but I am really busy these days with the new pup arriving soon and I still have to clear out some parts of the garden and 'puppy proof' the area in general... so once I've tackled my list of priorities then I'll focus on new stuff for the forum.

The future lies before you, like a path of pure white snow...
Be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.

Nino wrote:maybe if there was a "was this post useful" button?
depending on how many useful posts the person had it would become a "guru" ?

Actually, that is possible and wouldn't be too hard to implement. I've seen it on other forums whereby particular posts can be 'liked' or 'found useful' and that goes towards a point system (we could also implement a 'dislike' system! haha)

Anyway, I will think about it but I am really busy these days with the new pup arriving soon and I still have to clear out some parts of the garden and 'puppy proof' the area in general... so once I've tackled my list of priorities then I'll focus on new stuff for the forum.

I think this is a good idea...but can anyone really be a guru with out having a tamaskan? It is one thing to know about a tamaskan and its another thing to know and own one.

Nino wrote:maybe if there was a "was this post useful" button?
depending on how many useful posts the person had it would become a "guru" ?

Actually, that is possible and wouldn't be too hard to implement. I've seen it on other forums whereby particular posts can be 'liked' or 'found useful' and that goes towards a point system (we could also implement a 'dislike' system! haha)

Anyway, I will think about it but I am really busy these days with the new pup arriving soon and I still have to clear out some parts of the garden and 'puppy proof' the area in general... so once I've tackled my list of priorities then I'll focus on new stuff for the forum.

I think this is a good idea...but can anyone really be a guru with out having a tamaskan? It is one thing to know about a tamaskan and its another thing to know and own one.

*Boromir mode on*
One does NOT simply stop being a guru
*Boromir mode off*

Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away

Yeah - We quite often need a "like" and "dislike" button .. though that should maybe be separated from the "I found this useful" button, as there would be a lot of things that could be liked/disliked but isn't useful at all

Nino wrote:Yeah - We quite often need a "like" and "dislike" button .. though that should maybe be separated from the "I found this useful" button, as there would be a lot of things that could be liked/disliked but isn't useful at all

I like the idea of a like button or I found this useful button, but I don't think a dislike button would be a good idea, I think just not liking a comment is enough, a dislike button is too negative, at the moment if you disagree or dislike a comment enough to say that then you also tend to put a reason if it was just a button then it would be too easy to just click that and move on. Most people now if they disagree or dislike a comment either say why or ignore it, both actions are fine, but just clicking a button would not add to the discussion and could leave the person who made the comment feeling bad about it.

JulieSmith wrote:I like the idea of a like button or I found this useful button, but I don't think a dislike button would be a good idea, I think just not liking a comment is enough, a dislike button is too negative, at the moment if you disagree or dislike a comment enough to say that then you also tend to put a reason if it was just a button then it would be too easy to just click that and move on. Most people now if they disagree or dislike a comment either say why or ignore it, both actions are fine, but just clicking a button would not add to the discussion and could leave the person who made the comment feeling bad about it.

I don't like the idea of the dislike button for the same reason as what's already been said. I personally would either explain why I don't approve of the comment or ignore it altogether depending on the level of severity but pushing a dislike button usually results with the other person feeling punched without a clear reason. It's a little harsh in my personal opinion